Godfrey Herbert Winn (15 October 1906 – 19 June 1971) was an English

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

known as a columnist, and also a

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Born in

Kings Norton Kings Norton, alternatively King's Norton, is an area of Birmingham, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Worcestershire, it was also a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward within the Government of Birmingham, Engl ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

, he attended King Edward's School,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

.Robert Darlaston
King Edward's Schoolgay Icons - Godfrey Winn
/ref> His career as a theatre actor began as a boy at the Haymarket Theatre and he appeared in many plays and films. He went on to write a number of novels and biographical works, and became a star columnist for the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' and the '' Sunday Express'' newspapers, where he wrote "Dear Abby" articles for lovelorn women. Journalists nicknamed him 'Winifred God' because of his popularity with women readers. Winn was gay and never married. In 1939, Winn was the first British war correspondent to cross the Maginot Line. He served as a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

able seaman, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, training at HMS Ganges and becoming a CW (Commission Candidate Wartime) before injury led to his medical discharge. His book 'Home From Sea' published in 1943 recounts his life in the Royal Navy. Another book, PQ17, was an account of his experiences, as a journalist, on Convoy PQ 17 during the Second World War. After the war, he wrote numerous books and magazine articles, and appeared on radio and television as well as in films. He frequently compered the BBC Radio show ''

Housewives' Choice ''Housewives' Choice'' was a BBC Radio record request programme, broadcast every morning between 1946 and 1967 on the BBC Light Programme. It played a wide range of mostly popular music intended to appeal to housewives at home during the day. ...

'', with David Jacobs, from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s. He was a friend of

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

and it is said that the character George Potter in Maugham's 1941 book ''Strictly Personal'' was based on him. He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 1961 when he was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ ...

Winn died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the age of 64, while playing tennis at home in Brighton.

Bibliography

* ''Dreams Fade'' (1928) * ''Squirrel's Cage'' (1929) * ''The Unequal Conflict'' * ''Fly Away, Youth'' * ''Communion on Earth'' * ''I May Be Wrong'' * ''Personality Parade'' * ''A Month of Sundays'' * ''For My Friends'' * ''On Going to the Wars'' * ''The Hour Before the Dawn'' * ''The Kind of People We Are'' * ''Scrapbook of the War'' * ''Home from the Sea'' (1944) * ''Scrapbook of Victory'' * ''P.Q.17'' * ''This Fair Country'' * ''Going My Way'' * ''The Bend of the River'' * ''The Younger Sister'' (

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

) * ''The Younger Queen'' (

) * ''The Queen's Countrywoman'' (

) * ''One Man's Dog'' (

) * ''The Quest For Healing'' (

) * ''Personal Pages'' (

) * ''Infirm Glory'' (Volume 1 of his Autobiography). * ''The Positive Hour'' (Volume 2 of his Autobiography) * ''Here Is My Space'' (Volume 3 of his Autobiography) Additional Biographic and Autobiographic titles taken from a copy of ''The Positive Hour'' which was first published by Michael Joseph (UK) in 1970 before 3rd volume of autobiography was published.

Filmography

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Winn, Godfrey 1906 births 1971 deaths English male journalists People from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham English male child actors English male stage actors English male film actors 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English novelists British male novelists British gay writers 20th-century English male writers Royal Navy personnel of World War II Royal Navy sailors British LGBT journalists English LGBT writers 20th-century LGBT people